Konrad and Alexandra (pdf) - Rolf Gross

Alexandra left the room.
Dadiani took up his walk again, absentmindedly twirling his mustache in deep
concentration. "Konrad, I am trying to help you to get this drama over with as painlessly as
possible, but you do have to ask Tamara formally for the hand of her daughter. It is hard on her
to see her daughter leave and follow you into an unknown future."
Konrad had tried to anticipate various versions of this scene, but in none of them had he
seen himself asking Alexandra’s mother for her daughter. He had assumed that this charade
would be played out between him and his future father-in-law in his wife’s, and especially
Alexandra’s, absence.
A proudly poised Tamara followed by an anxious Alexandra walked in. And Konrad,
before the tableau could compose itself or anybody could stop him, in unaccustomed
spontaneity, went down on one knee and kissed Tamara’s hand.
"I have come to ask you and your husband for the hand of your daughter Alexandra. I
promise to love her above anything else and to care for her to the end of my days, whatever
fate may befall us." He recited the Georgian version Alexandra had taught him.
Silence befell on the room. Konrad remained on his knee. Tamara, taken by complete
surprise, wiped a tear from her eyes and then did what nobody had expected. She extended
her hand, raised Konrad, and embraced him.
"Konrad, I welcome you into our family as my son."
Blushing like a young girl, she gave him three kisses, took hold of his hand, and
presented him first to her husband saying with a trembling voice: "Be this thy father," and then
to Alexandra, "and this thy faithful wife for ever and ever."
Crying and laughing Alexandra buried her head on Konrad’s chest. He gently kissed her
hair. Confounded by his wife’s unexpected ministrations, Irakli Dadiani looked on speechlessly.
Finally Tamara took him into her arms.
Tamara led her bewildered family onto the verandah where lunch had been laid. A
servant brought champagne and Father Dadiani raised his glass with a toast to their future.
Abashed, Tamara smiled over her glass at Konrad. "Do call me Tamunia-Deda, and you
know, the Georgian word for father: mama!"
Konrad said a few improvised words to thank his newly found parents.
As they sat down, Alexandra rummaged in her purse and pulled out the necklace.
Konrad raised his eyebrows. He had not expected this surprise. She handed it to him, and with
a smile he fastened it around Alexandra's neck.
Alexandra was glowing. "Look what Konrad made for me."
Her mother asked to see the necklace up close. She held it by its ends in an arc and, as
if weighing it, let the links flow between her hands. Alexandra had to tell the story of the
necklace, and her father toasted the unexpected goldsmith in their midst.
Tying it around Alexandra’s neck, new tears came to Deda’s eyes. She kissed her
daughter.
"How did you find this man? A foreigner who speaks Georgian and makes Sufi
necklaces?" She shook her head. "This gold chain is a serious declaration of love. It has the
power to protect you and your marriage as long as you live. Give it to your daughter before you
die."
Konrad returned to Henri’s shop. He felt a need to think about Alexandra in the quiet
solitude of working precious metal into new life. He wanted to compose himself, to renew and
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